Book your tickets to climb through Lady Liberty’s skull now, because next year, the statue’s crown will be closed once again. The 354 stairs (that’s about 15 flights of stairs) in the crown reopened after 9/11 on July 4, 2009. But inspectors say the spiral staircase needs to be renovated to keep up with safety standards, and the crown will close for nine months to a year in October 2011.
Clear out your schedule for midnight tonight and tomorrow, because it’s time for the famously visible Perseid meteor shower. To see the meteors, find a dark sky and look toward the northeast. It’s “famously visible” because no binoculars or telescopes are needed, and this year is supposed to be extra bright. You will, of course, need a variety of other things to make the evening enjoyable, including a non-light-polluted sky and some good snacks. (Moonpies? Yes.) The peak of the shower won’t come until late, between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., depending on your time zone. Maybe bring two Moonpies. Happy stargazing!
As if Times Square wasn’t already teeming with enough mind-shattering excitement, the area’s newest store is particularly fantastic. Joining the Hershey’s and M&M’s store this week is Pop-Tart’s flagship store and cafe. Inside the cafe you’ll find Pop Tart sushi, which is bits of different flavored Pop Tarts wrapped in a fruit roll-up. How very New York City. As a longtime Pop-Tarts fan, I can’t be more thrilled. Though they are completely and utterly lacking in nutritional value, their nostalgic value make more than makes up for it. But according to this NYT article, their lease only runs until January, at which point the experts can decide if an entire store devoted to toaster pastries is really viable.
I had the thrill the other night to witness the musical magic that is Empire of the Sun. All summer, while working on my new book, I’ve been listening to their music. And to see them bring it to life in person is a wow. If you want a taste of their artistic magic, watch the video of “We Are the People.”
Barbara gets ready to jump back in the tank!
Congrats to Barbara Corcoran and the rest of the Sharks! ABC has announced a new season of Shark Tank. Barb will be heading out west in the fall to tape new episodes and I just might swim out there with her. If you’re interested in applying to pitch your product or idea to one of the gazillionaire investors, go here. For a peak at one of last year’s dramatic moments, look here. I have a feeling the second season will catch a load of dramatic excitement and hook a lot of new viewers.
You're not the only one cute and sleepy this morning!
I’m in love. Check out the Aviarios Del Caribe sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, the world’s only sloth orphanage and bedroom of over a hundred very sleepy cuties whose lives have been saved by sloth whisperer Judy Arroyo. According to The Cute Show (a fav blog of mine), Sloth’s are the junkies of the jungle who spend their lives nodding off, scratching, eating a bean, and repeat. Watch them display all their too cuteness here.
Today is National S’mores Day, and it’s time to find your inner Girl Scout and break out the graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. The tasty campfire treat has been around since 1927 when it was first introduced in the official Girl Scout Handbook. Obviously, having a campfire handy helps in the s’more-making process, but you can always microwave the marshmallows. Or, if you’ve got the heart of a thirteen-year-old boy, you can explode them in the microwave. And in the interest of science, here’s how a (gross, non-edible) marshmallow is made. Happy S’mores Day, everybody!
According to scientists, the triceratops never existed. The three-horned dinosaur immortalized in countless kids’ cartoons (I researched it, and Baby Bop was a triceratops) was actually a young Torosaurus, a dinosaur with a different skull shape. Yes, apparently dinosaurs’ skulls morphed as they grew up. Personally, I think this is science’s attempt to ruin The Land Before Time, as they’ve also nixed the brontasaurus. Watch out, T-Rex. You’re next.
What better way to start your week off right than with some really bad art? Beauty (or lack thereof) is truly in the eye of the beholder at the Museum of Bad Art in Dedham Square, MA. You can browse their collections of landscapes, unseen forces and blue people here, or check out Paste magazine’s “Fifteen Fantastically Awful Selections from the Museum of Bad Art”. Even better, some of the portraits have links so you can purchase a bit of bad art history for your dining room. To the left you’ll see “Drilling for Eggs” by William F. Murphy, one of my personal favorites. It speaks to me.
Hip hop star Wyclef Jean announced on Tuesday that he plans to run for president of Haiti on November 28. He’s never held political office, but he is a three-time Grammy Award winner, and he also paired up with Shakira for one of my favorite hits “Hips Don’t Lie.” “The United States has Obama, here you’re going to have Wyclef,” he told his possible voters. Sounds like a campaign slogan in the making.
